Evenepoel doesn't agree with team boss Lefevere: "Next year? I’m not sure yet"

Remco Evenepoel's list of achievements is growing rapidly: World Champion in both the road race and time trial, Olympic champion in both disciplines, Vuelta a España winner, and a two-time winner of the monument Liège-Bastogne-Liège. However, there’s still plenty for the Belgian cyclist to aim for, including the Tour de France, the Giro d'Italia, and the Tour of Flanders. Of these three, the Flemish classic is the lowest priority.

"I really want to add the Giro and the Tour to my achievements," Evenepoel said in an interview with Sporza about his main remaining goals as a cyclist. His third-place finish in the recent Tour de France has already given a significant boost to his confidence in that ambition. "Especially after finishing third, I now feel that it's definitely within reach. I still have quite a few years ahead of me, but it’s become clear to me that this is the direction I want to go."

This means that time trialing will take a bit of a back seat for Evenepoel. "It's clear that you don’t win a grand tour in a 30-kilometer time trial, but on climbs that take over an hour. Look, I’m not going to make any drastic changes, but I might lose a kilo or two to perform better on the high mountains." Evenepoel's extensive time trialing résumé helps him make this decision. "But that doesn’t mean I’m going to skip the big time trial events. I’m definitely riding the World Championships in Zurich and the European Championships in my home country."

"I’m not planning to adjust my preparation for a grand tour just for a classic."

Then there are the classics—after all, there are still four monuments missing from Evenepoel's palmarès. Not all of them are equally achievable, but the Tour of Flanders and the Tour of Lombardy are certainly within reach. Team boss Patrick Lefevere mentioned a while ago that Evenepoel will make his debut in several spring classics next year. "The plan is for Remco to discover Milan-Sanremo and the Tour of Flanders in 2025. He will also participate in Paris-Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico and race in preparation for the Tour of Flanders, such as Dwars door Vlaanderen or the E3 Saxo Bank Classic."

The rider himself, however, is cautious. "Sanremo and Flanders are quite early in the season. Doing both of those along with the Tour might be possible, but not with the Giro. And I’m not planning to change my grand tour preparation for a classic," Evenepoel states firmly. "I want to set realistic goals," he continues. "Guys like Mathieu van der Poel are still better than me in the Flemish classics. But, we’ll see. I’ll definitely give it a shot at some point, but next year? I’m not sure yet," Evenepoel downplays Lefevere’s comments.

Evenepoel won't venture into Pogacar territory for now

In any case, Evenepoel is not planning to do what Tadej Pogacar attempted this season: winning both the Tour de France and the Giro d’Italia in the same year. "The Giro and the Tour? Both are tough—unless you’re Pogacar," the grand tour rider laughs. "But for me, that’s still a bit too ambitious. We’ll wait and see what the routes look like; there’s no pressure. And first, there are still some races this year," Evenepoel says, referring to the World Championships in Zurich. "I’d like to defend my world title in the time trial. And with the road race course, it makes perfect sense that I’d want to aim for a strong result there too," he declares with confidence.